Impulse

EIGHTEEN: THE BIG SILENCE

Seeing Abdulmaleek come to his wedding Fatiha did not sit well with Ajeay, his body movement grew tighter and his response to people became shorter, his smile reduced to short fake twitches by the side of his lips. Something wasn't right, something just didn't sit well with him, maybe it was how happy and confident Abdulmaleek looked, dressed in the finest babban riga. Maybe it was in his head, why shouldn't Abdulmaleek be allowed to look rich after all he was.

Everyday is a good day to get married, but in northern Nigeria Fridays's and Saturdays were the best days to get married, certainly it was a beautiful day to get married but for Ajeay it was also a beautiful day to get arrested on your wedding Fatiha no less. Do the police work on weekends??? I suppose the police should work everyday of the week but there was something off about their arrival to the wedding location searching desperately for the groom. His friends and family tried to keep it quiet, begging his boss who came with the police not to arrest him in front of all that people. They tried to Atleast try to get them to wait until the wedding was over but they refused.

At the moment the whole world went crashing as Ajeay finally understood the smug smile on his nemesis' face, he had no idea what he was being arrested for. Tahira's father learnt of the small noise, he and Ajeay's uncle  sought private audience with the commander in charge and Ajeay's boss. When Tahira's father asked what the charges were and why the urgency he was required to follow them to the station where he would be presented with paper documents to prove Ajeay was involved in so many fraud activities and embezzlement. He then decided to followed them with Ajeay to the police station to try and clear it up. A family friend went with Daddy as they left other family members at the venue with guests.

AT THE STATION
Daddy was never a condescending man so he didn't try to use his ranks or money to arm strong anyone, but he tried to understand what charges against his soon to be in-law was and if it could be sorted out.
"10 million, if he can pay up this money he can go on bail, if the company do not intend to press further charges"

Ajeay was speechless, he was like a mute just sitting there, his uncle was furious to the extent he slapped Ajeay after asking him to explain himself for the 5th time and got silence for an explanation. Still Ajeay's mind was too far gone to respond at that time, he was still trying to understand how Abdulmaleek was able to pull all that off.

He underestimated the man, well of course he and the chess players never had any problem playing real chess with people's lives, and this was checkmate. He really always was a smug son of a bitch, Ajeay thought, but how does he get out of this, 10 million? Where would he get that kind of money from. The damage has been done, everyone now saw him as a criminal. And for first time he didn't blame Abdulmaleek for doing this to him, he blamed himself for playing a dangerous game with dangerous people.

"And if he can't get the money?" Tahira's father asked
"He will be detained until Monday and then the case will be taken to court."

Tahira's father stood up and went out of the police station Abdulmaleek and a few others of Ajeay's friends followed in their cars but while some of them went inside Abdulmaleek and Abdulzahir waited outside, Tahira's father and Ajeay's uncle came out discussing "I will call the commissioner and see if they can let him go home and come up with the money instead of detaining him"
"Mun gode sosaai, Allah ya bar zumunci" Ajeay's Uncle responded and that was the conclusion.

As Daddy and his friend approadched the car they were discussing on what to do regarding the wedding of his daughter to a fraud. "Za'a iya daurawa" the man suggested
"No daughter of mine will marry a fraud"
"But how could the poor girl know? This will probably devastate her. Beside the fault was ours as parents for not digging enough about this boy"
"We have no choice then but to call off the wedding" Abdulmaleek and Abdulzahir came to Tahira's father and his friend to greet them.
"Assalamualaikum ina yini Baba"
"Ha'an Abdulmaleek.. dan gidan Dan dabo ne" Daddy introduced him to his friend.
"Ai ai tohhh"
Abdulmaleek could see the question written on Daddy's face so he decided to explain before he was asked. "Daman mun zo daurin auren Abduljabbar ne sai kuma ga abinda ya faru"
"Dama ka san shi ne?" Daddy asked
"Ehhh" Abdulmaleek answered
"Ai da shi ke neman Tahira, sai kuma ya janye, kuma ban san dadilili ba. Ko dai daman ka janye masa ne?" Daddy further asked.
"A'a ai ban san ma yana neman ta ba" Abdulmaleek lied.
"Toh!!!" Daddy's friend said in a very 'I am interested' look "Kayi auren ne yanzu??" He asked.
"Dama yanada matarsa" Daddy saved Abdulmaleek from having to give a long explanations and he was more than happy to not have to respond.
"Oh oh toh, kari yake nema? Na gane" the man seemed to have cooked some kind of idea in his head, and that was the only explanation for his persistent questions to Senior. "Toh yanzu baka son karin auren ne?"
Abdulmaleek could already see where all the questions were heading to, it was obvious they had to cancel a wedding and now the man was already thinking they didn't have to, something Daddy didn't seem to have understand. "A'a ina so"
"Toh Tahiran tamu ce baka so?" He man asked and that was the exact moment Daddy saw where the whole questioning was heading to and Abdulzahir also seem to have gotten the hint. Abdulmaleek on the other hand saw big opportunity starring him dead in the eye, he took a sudden liking to the man, the man was smart and he wasted no time to find solutions. "Ina sonta" Abdulmaleek answered faster than speed light, he was praying Daddy would imbibe the idea that was already out in the air.